Southwest Airlines plane blew tire during take off, made emergency landing in Denver

Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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A commercial airline flight made an emergency landing in Colorado this week after an issue with its landing gear during takeoff.

Southwest Air Flight No. 225, headed from Denver to Phoenix on Monday night, had return to the Denver International Airport and make the emergency landing after an issue with one of its tires during takeoff.

Southwest Aif flight No. 225, a Boeing 737-800 headed from Denver to Phoenix on June 3, 2024, had return to the Denver International Airport and make the emergency landing after an issue with one of its tires during takeoff.
Southwest Aif flight No. 225, a Boeing 737-800 headed from Denver to Phoenix on June 3, 2024, had return to the Denver International Airport and make the emergency landing after an issue with one of its tires during takeoff.

According to the online site Flight Aware, which tracks flight paths, the Boeing 737-800 took off at 6:31 p.m., was diverted and then returned to the Denver airport 41 minutes later.

No injuries were reported.

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Southwest tire blows during takeoff from Denver

On Friday, the airline released the following statement to USA TODAY:

"Southwest Flight 225 returned safely to Denver on Monday, June 3, after a tire failed during takeoff. Following standard Safety procedures, the Pilots declared an emergency prior to landing. The flight landed without incident and taxied off the runway. A separate aircraft operated the scheduled flight to Phoenix."

In the statement, the airline thanked its flight crew for "their professionalism" and its customers for "their patience."

'Crying and screaming'

Boulder resident Julianna Donadio, who said she was on the plane headed to visit her mom, told local KDVR-TV, she and fellow passengers knew the plane blew a tire.

“When the flight attendants said we were going to have an emergency landing, we started to panic a little bit. People were definitely crying and screaming and trying to console one another,” told the outlet. “They started preparing us for crash position, so having our head between our knees, and they were informing the emergency exit line how to open the doors and operate potentially the slides.”

Donadio told the outlet she was grateful to the pilot and crew, who all remained calm during the frightening scene.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Southwest 225 plane makes emergency landing in Denver for tire problem